Why does the govt give money to support the railways?

Question

the govt subsidizes the railway which is private,, why????

Answer 1

Because rail is not popular enough for it to be profitable. If there was enough demand for it, enough people would ride that they would actually make money. They don't, so the government subsidizes it. Also, the U.S. government owns the majority of Amtrak's shares, so it is technically a government-owned railway.

Answer 2

Which government?  Which railways?  Let's see some details.  This nonsense of making an ill-conceived statement under the guise of a question doesn't cut it.  Get real!

Answer 3

This question is a wrong assumption. The only railroad that is subsidized by the US Goverment is Amtrak, the passenger line. The freight lines are making lots of money and need no subsidy. The railroads run on their own tracks, on land that they own and maintain.  An Example is BNSF RR.   It is a 29 Billion dollar company.

Answer 4

The gov only subsidized Amtrak...  why?  because not enough people use it nationwide for it to stand on its own.

Answer 5

Government Documents on Railroads

Railroads have played an important historical role in the U.S´ political and economic development.  They continue playing a vital role in U.S. transportation and in contemporary economic activity.  Governments play an important role in shaping the development of railroads and in regulating issues such as cargo and passenger train safety, the rates railroads can charge customers, and other legal and public policy issues.  Purdue Libraries have numerous government documents dealing with railroads.  These cover the historical development and evolution of railroads in the U.S. as well as contemporary legal, regulatory, and public policy issues.  Government documents on railroads are located in the HSSE, ENGR, MGMT Libraries, and in the Undergraduate Library´s HIKS Repository..

rail roads support america's   Railroads and State United States

     Railroads Freight United States ,  United States Interstate Commerce Commission and Transportation.

Answer 6

Why not?  The government also subsidizes road travel, too.

It's a public infrastructure thing - got to keep people and goods moving through the country.

Answer 7

It´s not true that there isn´t enough people for trains, the problem is that THERE ARE FEW TRAINS (talking about US), and that grow the operative costs.  For example:  most long distance lines and most of the stations in the country recive only TWO trains a day, but you must staff them and spend in them to be open all the day.  If you double the number of trains, you will have a lot more passengers (more options) and the cost of stations will be shared among more trains.  BUT there are other problems:  goverment subsidize ALL the transport options, ALL.

Road users pay around 66 % of the cost of maintenance of the roads, and trucks are subsidized by private cars.  Air traffic control is payed by the goverment so...    

Please read the links below to see more:

Answer 8

Because it's a very convenient way to travel, and if it were allowed to go out of business, it would make the U.S. more similar to an undeveloped country. I wish Amtrak got more funding to make it more convenient. We've spent half a trillion dollars bombing the h**l out of Iraq, think what even a tiny portion of that money could have done for infrastructure here in the U.S. I lived in Europe for a while where the rail system is very well-funded, and trains are definitely the way to go there: clean, modern, frequent.

Answer 9

in the US:

not all rail is private  ie amtrak

but it makes a lot of sense...  roads are getting more congested, and adding lanes doesnt hellp that much, jsut take a look at boston and LA.  so by subsidizing rail networks, there rails can charge cheaper fares than what they normally would, which will attract more people away from cars, which will ease congestion without spending the same millions on road improvements.